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Aggies Reportedly Set To Expand Kyle Field

An exterior view of Kyle Field at Texas A&M University in College Station. (credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

COLLEGE STATION (CBS SPORTS) – Plans for expansion at Kyle Field are on the cusp of being finalized at Texas A&M — and they reportedly don’t lack ambition.

Local TV station KBTX reported that the Texas A&M Board of Regents is set to meet Wednesday, and has a final vote on the expansion. The vote would entail “possible approval of the project, its scope and its budget.”

Billy Liucci, a reporter for TexAgs.com, tweeted Tuesday that the plan’s “scope” will be wide enough to rank Kyle Field among the largest college football stadiums in the country. “Per A&M source, Kyle Field project will increase capacity to over 102,000,” he said.

An expansion to a capacity of 102,000 would represent an increase of approximately 20,000 seats to the current official number of 82,589 — nearly a 25 percent bump. Not surprisingly, that sort of project won’t come cheap, with some earlier reported estimates putting its price tag at as much as $450 million.

For an Aggie fanbase revitalized by the move to the SEC and Kevin Sumlin’s thrilling 11-2 debut, even that kind of budget might qualify as money well spent. According to current official capacities, Kyle Field would become just the fifth college football stadium in the country to top 102,000 seats, joining (in order) Michigan Stadium, Beaver Stadium, Neyland Stadium and Ohio Stadium.

Assuming the board follows through with approval, the official final capacity could surpass Neyland to make Kyle Field the largest stadium in the SEC.